


Black & White

by Squarepeg72



Series: 31 Pegs on the Wall [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family, Gen, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27126424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squarepeg72/pseuds/Squarepeg72
Summary: A weekend trip to a Muggle village leads to a lifelong companion for the youngest of the Potter children.
Series: 31 Pegs on the Wall [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950172
Kudos: 5
Collections: 31 Days of Writing Challenge - Fall 2020





	Black & White

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 11 - Pets in the 31 Days of Writing Challenge
> 
> For my Molly - we still miss you (2007 - 2017)
> 
> [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/148170750@N07/50508321416/in/dateposted-public/)  
> 

“Children, we are leaving in ten minutes, with or without you,” Ginny yelled up the stairs as she watched Harry pack food into their picnic basket.

“Are you sure about this?” Harry looked at items scattered around the sitting room that they still needed to pack. “Taking them to Hogsmeade is a challenge, and we are going to Ottery St Catchpole. There are Muggles there.”

“Ottery St Catchpole has survived generations of visits from Weasleys.” Ginny shrugged as she stuffed her favourite sun hat in the bag she was holding. “It is a mixed community, and our hellions do know how to behave in public.”

“Do I need to remind you of the last time we were in London with the children?” Harry raised an eyebrow as he continued to stuff food into the basket. “Hermione just about banned us from ever taking them to the city again because of all the accidental magic they cast in the toy store.”

“That was two years ago.” Ginny sighed. “Ottery St Catchpole is not going to be the downfall of the Potter clan. You never know, you might actually have fun.”

Any further discussion was cut short by the chaos of three children descending the stairs.

“Mum, make him stop...”

“Give me back my broom…”

“I’m telling Papa that you took my dolly…”

Harry snapped his fingers and looked at the tumble of children that had frozen at the base of the stairs. “We can always stay home if you cannot get along.”

“Harry, let the children go.” Ginny tried not to laugh at the look on her boys’ faces. “I may be sorry I taught you that spell. Mum swears by it, but you may use it a little too often.”

“It works on children and criminals.” Harry shrugged and went back to packing his basket. “They can stop arguing and get ready to, go or they can keep arguing and stay tangled like that while we enjoy a visit to Ottery St Catchpole.”

“Papa, the boys called me a baby…”

“She will not stay out of my stuff…”

“All they do is break everything…”

“Like I said,” Harry sighed and looked at Ginny. “You can stop fussing, or you can stay like that. You know how this spell works.”

“I guess I could Floo Aunt Mione and see if she could stay with these three while we enjoy the sunshine in Ottery St Catchpole.” Ginny had to look away from her children so they could not see the laughter in her eyes. “I’m sure she can find some fun and educational things to do while we are gone.”

“Mum, anyone but Aunt Mione…”

“We’ll stop…”

“Papa, please. We’ll be good…”

Harry shrugged and snapped his fingers again. Ginny lost her battle with the giggles as their children tried to untangle themselves as the spell released.

“We leave as soon as your mother stops laughing,” Harry chuckled and closed the basket he had been packing.

* * *

The farmer’s market in the centre of Ottery St Catchpole was a bouquet of colours, noise, and smells. Lily Luna thought there was no place more magical than where she was walking right now.

“Mama, can I go look at the tent over there.” She tugged on her mother’s shirttail to get her attention. “I still have a little money to spend, and I think I saw some apples to take to Gran.”

“Go ahead.” Ginny let go of Lily Luna’s hand and watched her daughter run towards the tent she had pointed out. “Don’t take too long. We need to find the boys and head home soon.”

Lily Luna waved at her mum and continued to make her way through the crowd to the brightly coloured tent. There had to be something magical in that tent because it was so pretty. As she walked under the bright canopy, a whine caught her attention.

Searching for the source of the strange noise. Lily Luna saw a large, cardboard box that was moving without anyone touching it. That was definitely magical. The closer she got to the box, the louder the whining sounded.

When she finally got to the magic box, she noticed it had letters on it. Mama had been teaching her her letters, but Lily Luna still wasn’t sure how all that worked. The box wiggled again as she tried to figure out what the letters meant.

“Hello, little one.” A kind old man startled Lily Luna as she started to touch the magical box. “Can I help you with something? Do your parents know where you are?”

Lily Luna looked up at the kind old man. “My mama said I could come in here and look around. Is this a magic box? It was wiggling and whining.”

“I guess you could say it has magic in it.” The old man reached inside the box and pulled out a small ball of black and white fur. “Border collies are a special and magical kind of dog. Would you like to pet her?”

Lily Luna looked at the bundle that the old man held out to her. “What’s a border collie? Why does it sound so funny?’

“Border collies are dogs that help the shepherd take care of his sheep.” The old man set the puppy in Lily Luna’s outstretched arms. “This puppy is extra special because her voice is different. She squeaks instead of barking. Something happened to her voice when she was much smaller.”

“Couldn’t the puppy healer fix her?” Lily Luna cuddled the puppy to her chest and kissed it’s head. “Mama says healers can fix anything.”

“Not this time, little one.” The old man smiled as he watched Lily Luna love on the puppy. “Because of her voice, she will never be able to be a sheep dog. I need to find a special home for this special puppy.”

“What have you found there, munchkin?” Lily Luna looked up at the sound of her father’s voice.

“It’s a magical puppy, Papa.” Lily Luna kissed the top of the puppy’s head again. “He says she needs a special home. Can she come home with us?’

“Puppies are a lot of work, Lily Luna.” Harry watched his daughter love on the puppy that was squeaking and trying to escape her grip. “Can you promise to take care of her? Taking home a puppy is a promise that will last a long time.”

“I promise.” Lily put her ear close to the puppy’s mouth and listened to her squeak. “She says her name is Molly and she wants to come home with me.”

Harry looked at the old man. “How much for the puppy? It seems as though she has charmed my daughter.”

The old man smiled and shook his head. “That pup was bred for farm work but will never be able to do her job with her damaged voice. The pup is all yours. Just make sure she is loved as much tomorrow as she is today.”

* * *

Lily Luna looked at the ball of fur curled up on the blanket by the fireplace. It had been a long term at Hogwarts, and she was glad to be home.

Setting her bag on the floor, Lily Luna clapped her hands. “Time to run, Molly. I’m home.”

Thumping her tail on the floor, the border collie uncurled from her spot by the fire and padded towards Lily Luna. Stopping at Lily Luna’s toes, the dog sat and smiled at her favourite person.

“I’m going to find a way to bring you to school next term.” Lily Lunawhispered as she bent down to scratch behind Molly’s ears. “Every magical place needs a magical puppy.”

With a nudge and a squeak, Molly agreed with her favourite person. She followed Lily Luna to the sofa and crawled into her lap after Lily Luna sat down.

“Best dog ever.” Lily Luna sunk her hands into Molly’s fur and closed her eyes. “We’ll go run after I have a nap. I missed you.”

Harry walked into the sitting room about twenty minutes later. He smiled at the scene on the sofa. Lily Luna had kept her promise.

**Author's Note:**

> The pup in the cover is my Molly. The picture was taken about a year before she passed. She was a rescue pup and mostly border collie. She sounded like a pig when she was excited because she had a collapsing trachea. The people at the SPCA think her original family had a collar on her too tight and it damaged her throat. She was as amazing dog who had her own thoughts and ideas about how the world should be. I still miss watching her herd the children into the house and sitting on their feet to keep them from leaving ...


End file.
